A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Before reaching the giants, Thorsteinn finds a farmer and household striking a burial mound. The farmer says its dead occupant owed him two hundred rix-dollars, and he intends to disturb the grave until satisfied. Thorsteinn pays the debt; the farmer promises to stop. The dead man has no personal name in the tale.

Later Raudr abandons the prince in a boat without oars or rudder. A voice reassures him, and the boat moves as swiftly as Raudr’s ship. The helper then appears and identifies himself as the dead man whose debt Thorsteinn paid. He directs the prince to serve as the king’s stableman and claim what lies beneath the manger. The princess demands the stableman’s life-story, exposing Raudr’s lie, and the predicted treasure is found. The helper’s rescue repays a specific kindness rather than establishing that every disturbed grave produces such a spirit.

Returned dead debtorGuides rudderless boatRepays burial-rest kindnessPredicts stable treasure
01

Origins & earliest records

Icelandic Legends, second series (1866), The Story of Thorsteinn, the King’s Son, pp. 527–540.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete narrative from the prince’s prodigality through stable revelation and royal succession; anonymous figures are not supplied invented personal names.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Icelandic Legends, second series: The Story of Thorsteinn, the King’s Son, pp. 527–540

    Collected by Jón Árnason; translated by George E. J. Powell and Eiríkr Magnússon · 1866

    Complete collected tale. Seven-giant household pp. 531–538; returned debtor pp. 539–540.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textIcelandic Legends, surviving 1866 alternate copyResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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